Linux the dove? Microsoft the hawk? Whatever. We just want dinner.

As recently as last year I would occasionally do searches on the Internet looking for news items that took an honest look at the Linux "panacea" or that were at least not so preducial. Internally, I knew the deals we were winning against Linux, but I was perplexed by the lack of public knowledge in this regard.

That is changing. For example, the following news story talks about how Lloyd's Register chose Microsoft over Linux. Statements from company officials and staff make for an interesting read. The basic scenario is this: the company was tired of having a fragmented IT environment. They're not alone. Many companies have a patchwork of systems, platforms, and technologies that only Gandalf with the Ring of Power could completely understand or control. Stephen Hand, the company's IT director, does what any sensible person in his shoes should do: show some leadership and set things right. Eliminate confusion and clean things up. Besides, it will look good when his boss reviews his year-end performance.

So, they approach it all rather scientifically. They establish evaluation criteria and select the contenders. Here's what happened:

In the feasibility study each operating system was given a score out of 140. And even though it was expected that Linux would come out top, this wasn't the case. "Our preconceptions about where the exercise was going were wrong. We thought we'd be open source by now," Hand admits.

Like so many people, Hand was probably thinking it was a slam-dunk: Products from Microsoft (big, rich, powerful, greedy, arrogant, and giving the world the "business") would wither in the harsh light of scrutiny. Meanwhile, Linux (dovelike, benevolent, selfless, inexpensive, the leader in bang/buck) would rise like Phoenix from the ashes of the fray. It didn't happen folks. The Microsoft value proposition was strong and their problems were solved. This enlightenment is happening on an increasingly rapid pace.

Rock Thought for the Day: Death Cab for Cutie's new song, Soul Meets Body is worthy of mention. My concern with this band was that they would not grow, not innovate and thus fade. While they are not innovating by leaps and bounds, their new album Plans gives reason to believe that this band is here to stay.